"Ryuji is so strong..."
She murmured while watching Ryuji.
Although she already knew Ryuji's stamina and strength were extraordinary, truly seeing him throw punches and kicks, hearing his hands and feet produce sonic booms, made her realize just how immense his strength was.
Origami glanced toward Ryuji as well.
For her, she didn't think she could escape the next operation, so like Asuna, she had come here to learn magic.
"How should I put it? If he weren't a man, and a flesh-and-blood human being, I'd really think he was a Spirit."
"A Spirit?"
Asuna looked at Origami with a puzzled expression and couldn't help but ask.
"A Spirit like the Goddess?"
Even though Ryuji casually referred to the goddess as a "sow-goddess," a goddess was still a goddess. Whether it was Asuna, Origami, or even the Sword Maiden who had experienced a collapse of faith, each of them still believed the sow-goddess was a goddess worthy of respect.
"No," Origami said, letting out a helpless sigh. "Spirits in our world aren't anything beautiful. They're disasters."
Her tone carried exhaustion and pain.
Everything she had… was destroyed because of the Spirits.
"Every time they appear, they cause massive disasters. Space itself trembles, triggering a series of natural calamities. Moreover, they themselves pose a great threat to humanity. They possess something called 'Astral Dress', and it seems they can even disguise themselves as humans."
When Origami spoke, her tone was filled with hatred, causing the sow-goddess beside her to subconsciously glance at her.
Then, the sow-goddess's gaze changed.
"This child…"
There's something extraordinary inside her.
The sow-goddess could sense that power belonging to another god was inside Origami's body, quietly recording everything around her.
This power belonged to an incomplete 'god.' She was curious about what was going on, so she reached out her hand and gently patted Origami's head.
"What a pitiful child…"
She didn't do anything unnecessary. She merely confirmed something once again:
The broken world attached to Ryuji truly understood nothing, to think it had even chosen a child like this.
This child was tied to the fate of another world. Without her, that other world would fall into a deadly loop it could never escape.
Surely, the other world wouldn't allow this child to wander into danger so casually.
So, the goddess quietly granted a blessing.
Origami, however, had no idea it was meant as kindness to her. She only felt the goddess patting her head. So, she covered her head in annoyance and pulled away from the goddess's hand.
Ryuji, naturally, knew nothing about all this. He continued to focus on throwing his punches. When it was time to rest, he ate, handled some government affairs and then had sex with the princess who was assisting him with those affairs.
Then, in the evening...
"Your Majesty, this is today's duty roster report."
Claudia, wearing that revealing outfit, walked up to Ryuji's throne, trying hard not to look at the goddess kneeling before him, drinking his semen. Then, she reported the castle's duty report to Ryuji.
This was necessary information. It had to be reported; no one could stop it.
"I see…"
Ryuji casually pulled his hand out from Asuna's ass, then looked at Claudia in front of him and stroked his chin thoughtfully.
"Speaking of which, Miss Claudia… you're one of my women too, aren't you?"
His question made Claudia's body tremble.
Claudia knew this day would come eventually. But when it truly arrived, she hadn't expected she'd still be this nervous.
Still, she took a deep breath and nodded.
"Yes, Your Majesty. I, Claudia, am indeed one of your possessions."
She did not mention her late husband's family name because she was no longer part of that family.
"I see. Then stay and serve me tonight. I assume you have no objections, Claudia."
Ryuji spoke casually, but he didn't hold Claudia in high regard.
The reason was simple: Claudia's status was somewhat awkward to him.
A widow, whose husband died under unclear circumstances. Although all evidence showed Ryuji had nothing to do with it, others might not see it the same way.
Although he didn't care about such rumors, the truth was his desire for Claudia wasn't particularly high.
As a female knight, she wasn't as pure as the Princess; she wasn't a virgin.
Her figure was excellent, but compared to the three shameless elves, it was honestly quite ordinary.
As for temperament...
Her dignified aura couldn't match 'Charlotte's'. When the two stood together, it was the black-haired 'Charlotte' who looked more like a female knight.
Her looks were pleasing, her figure explosive, but she lacked distinctive traits/charms.
Even Roxanne had moments of excitement and full-blown arousal when her bloodline would awaken, her ears turning into wide, drooping dog ears, her hair turning golden.
But Claudia truly had no unique features, seeming like a mass-produced wife-knight archetype.
And most importantly, the most exciting point about a married woman was missing.
Her husband was dead.
Which meant the thrill of a "married woman" was drastically reduced.
After all, what made a married woman exciting?
Her husband.
The immorality. The betrayal of trust. The betrayal of family. The pleasure of overwhelming another man physically and reproductively.
The joy of crushing another man's dignity.
Those who enjoyed "cuckoldry" loved exactly that.
And those who enjoyed being cuckolded loved the feeling of being destroyed—the feeling of betrayal, the feeling of ruining what they love.
Human desire was diverse, and the core appeal of a married woman lay in the existence of her husband.
As for widows, it's more about ultimate humiliation in places like mourning halls and the final pleasure of turning the victim's(deceased's) wife and daughters into sows...
But...
Ryuji didn't like that.
He didn't like NTR.
So, he had no such vulgar desire toward Claudia.
Defeating her husband in reproductive ability?
Her husband had been a frail, scholarly man who wasn't even interested in such things. Defeating him offered no sense of accomplishment.
Crushing her husband's dignity?
The man was already dead.
The dead deserved respect.
Ryuji isn't a pervert.
Or rather, he's not that kind of pervert.
And turning Claudia into a sow to show off?
The women in this world were already like sows to someone from a normal society like him. Turning them even more... was too heavy for his taste.
So when Ryuji looked at Claudia, he felt she was somewhat tasteless.
Eating her offered no unique pleasure, but not eating her...
Looking at her breasts, her hips, her face...
Not doing it felt like questioning whether he was still a man.
Thus, for Ryuji, taking Claudia was less about desire and more about politics.
After all, he had taken women from every kingdom. Although some hadn't been taken yet due to various reasons, they were already reserved.
Claudia, though reserved, hadn't been acted upon, and there was no issue with her age.
Claudia understood this perfectly.
She quickly lowered her head, readying herself.
"Yes, Your Majesty. I am your possession, your knight. Naturally, I have no objections."
"Then go prepare yourself."
Ryuji casually motioned for Claudia to leave with the maid corps. Claudia obediently followed, entering the bath with the maids.
Under their attendance, her fair, voluptuous body stepped into the pool, and she couldn't help but sigh in relief.
For some time now, countless people had been pressuring her, urging her to get into Ryuji's bed as soon as possible so they could finally feel at ease.
Honestly, she found it absurd. How could national affairs change just because Ryuji slept with her?
Yet the reality was that they would.
And if he didn't take her, the people at her fortress wouldn't rest easy.
So as she sank into the warm water, washing herself thoroughly and reaffirming that she would soon go serve Ryuji, Claudia felt as if one long-pending matter had finally been settled. However...
"I'm sorry…"
She couldn't help but apologize to her late husband in her heart.
Their married life had been relatively harmonious. Although her husband couldn't satisfy her or even get her pregnant, she had still believed they could live together happily.
But fate had brought her to this point.
But, what's the use of apologizing to the dead? Especially when it had been his own father who killed him.
She couldn't help but cover her face, wanting to cry. But at that moment, Roxanne entered the pool. She wrapped her arms around the quietly sobbing Claudia and gently comforted her.
"Claudia, our master is a very good man. You don't need to cry over this."
Roxanne thought Claudia was sad because she had to marry Ryuji. But Claudia shook her head.
"No, it's not that. Offering myself for the sake of my country and people is an honor for me, especially to a wise ruler like Lord Ryuji. I just… when I think about how my husband was killed by his own father because I couldn't bear him a child… I just…"
That was the real source of her sorrow.
She didn't resent being married to Ryuji at all. What truly broke her heart was that her husband had been killed by his own father.
The reason her husband was killed by his father was simple: his father deemed him unworthy as a son because Claudia hadn't borne a child.
So he killed his own son, Claudia's husband, intending to use her body to produce an heir.
For Claudia, if she had borne a child earlier, her husband wouldn't have died, and she wouldn't have had to marry Ryuji.
So, living in a medieval theocratic state, Claudia couldn't help but resent herself.
"If only I'd been able to have a child… my husband wouldn't have died…"
~~~~~~~~~~
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